Hi Deb,
I'm just new into bonsai as well...Living in Sydney, I've been lucky that I've been able to attend the School of Bonsai for the last couple of years. Last year I was doing the beginners course, this year, the intermediate course & supposibly next year I'll be classed as an Expert! I think not....
I've found the art really fasinating, you learn all about the trees & alot about horticulture. It's also brought me out of my shell & it also rekindled my love and fasination of nature, namely birds, and as a result I've now got Gouldians.
And the beauty of bonsai is....you don't have to feed & water them daily, and you only need to focus on a tree, every couple of months, that is of course depending on the speed of the growth of the tree. And it truly clears the mind when you are working on your trees.
I also agree, no to Bunnings; they are overpriced rubbish. There is a few good bonsai nurseries in Melbourne, so after the conference.....
Just to go further off topic...you can find natural bonsai in the forests...stunted trees growing in rock crevices etc.....any way back to topic my first very large aviary had light (natural) and darker area feed and nest area....but Goulds preferred to build and nest in the light part of the aviary in hollow logs and nest boxes out there....one hen raised 9 young out of one clutch...7 the next...8 the one after that...all were pure normals (black heads)...cuttthroats, javas, orange breast, ruddies, all used the inside section...stars, pictorellas, masks, used the light area of aviary..
The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long after the Sweetness of Cut Price is Forgotten